The average life expectancy of a new Russian recruit—from arrival at a training ground to death in a combat zone—lies somewhere between 10 days and three weeks. Once sent onto the battlefield, they survive an average of 20 to 35 minutes. @peterfrankopan.bsky.social foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/25/r...

my kind of Jubilee, the Japanese national team vs. 100 kids

!!! Trump appointees at Treasury push for $250 bill with his face on it. Director of Bureau of Printing & Engraving, who resisted the effort, said she was involuntarily reassigned last month. “The buck stopped here,” she wrote in her goodbye. wapo.st/4fM4Hei

The total value of Trump’s transactions in the first three months of this year—again, $750 million—is higher than the value of all trades by all 535 members of the House and Senate combined in an average year. www.thebulwark.com/p/trader-in-...

the president of the united states sued his own government for ten billion dollars and “settled” it by directing that government to use taxpayer money for a nearly two billion dollar slush fund to distribute to his political allies at will typing it out barely feels real

Iran is not scared of Trump:

Social media is no longer social. Most of it is passive viewing of videos and pictures from people we've never met. But we're still studying social media like it's 2010. We've entered the post-social media era — and research needs to catch up. osf.io/preprints/so... preprint w/ Richard Rogers

Whilst the Middle East goes up in flames, AI is approaching the stage where current IT could become inoperable for a while. The next version of Anthropic (Mythos) can detect and exploit cyber vulnerabilities at epic scale. Its not being released. red.anthropic.com/2026/mythos-...

Remarkable. Why would he say this? - No non-US NATO country is going to roll over based on this. - Demonstrates there is still a threat of invasion. Reduces "surprise". It must be about shifting MAGA/Fox News Viewer opinion to being hostile to Europe and preparing for an invasion.

YouTube just suggested I watch this. Oh boy.

Trump wanted Mercantilism. Trump got Mercantilism. Probably not the sort he was looking for.

Since Ofcom seems to have given up, we asked 20 experienced journalists from a range of backgrounds to watch multiple hours of @gbnewsonline.bsky.social . Their conclusion: the channel has, in effect, become Reform TV. How did it happen? www.thenewworld.co.uk/alan-rusbrid...

"He says he has a plan. It would need to be very cunning." The Economist targeting those familiar with the work of Baldrick. www.economist.com/finance-and-...

I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about Iran's "Kamikaze" drone boats in the Strait of Hormuz in the next few weeks. I wonder how they will affect the new US insurance cover? www.twz.com/news-feature...

Greenland Hospital Ship anyone? Its currently in the Panama Canal! -The "MAGA Greenlander" was staying with Landry in New Orleans for Mardi Gras -Mentioned healthcare -BANG! Trump announces hospital ship without worrying if the hull could take on icebergs... www.thedailybeast.com/bonkers-back...

I suppose this will be necessary if the UK wants to have an independent nuclear option... but very expensive.

"Karen was told that she was “guilty by association”, and that she had broken the terms of her valid B2 tourist visa by helping her husband pack for the trip." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

An excellent example of why British (and most countries) politics is broken: Ditching Starmer without a clear notion of what comes next. No interest in dealing with ugly reality. www.economist.com/britain/2026...

1/ Trump, Greenland, Venezuela, Canada A worst-case scenario thread.

From the end of October. A US Senator and former CIA officer... "We are about 2 weeks away from a bloody incident that spirals out of control... And this is just the kind of incident that Trump wants to justify more force coming in. " www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnUO...

It’s a dark night when you look at the news and are forced to admit that you no longer believe in the power of the FIFA peace prize

Oh Look! A Christmas gift from Reform UK. Was delivered by post so it looks like the overseas money has arrived. Its going to be a long 4 months to the Scottish Elections.

Word for the day: Fiscal dominance.

Trump is looking to invade Venezuela... ...to reduce Canada's leverage. Trump is trying to get Russian rehabilitated... to buy their oil... ...to reduce Canada's leverage. All a bit grim. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgwn...

Persuasive letter on populism as a cognitive short-cut in the @financialtimes.com

I liked this story more than most people on my timeline. The reasons I liked it are mostly to do with how it shows that much of the UK state exercises a purely notional control over anything. Trading Standards? Pfft. Companies House? Don't make me laugh. www.bbc.com/news/article...

The UK's financial / government problems (as seen from outside)... TLDR: We don't make/do stuff other people want to pay for. Except financial services to the very rich. Which warps national policy. This ensures we don't make/do stuff other people want to pay for. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKs0...

24 Minutes in another world... www.youtube.com/watch?v=m81K...

"If you want to know what life's like when your not the apex intelligence: ask a chicken." Would be amusing if it wasn't coming from last year's Nobel prize winner (and AI pioneer). www.youtube.com/watch?v=giT0...

My personal opinion is this is at least partly fuelled by a fundamental error in the approach in the counter-disinformation on focusing on foreign actors rather than treating information disorder as a societal issue. An extensive piece on that to come.